State and City Legislation Set Up New Workplace Requirements
In their Labor Relations column, John P. Furfaro and Risa M. Salins review recent state and city legislation on wage payment and deductions, greater protection for women in the workplace, and employer consideration of a job applicant's criminal history or credit history.
December 03, 2015 at 03:58 PM
11 minute read
In 2015, New York state and city legislators enacted a number of new and amended laws having a significant impact on employers. This month's column reviews these important statutory developments.
Wage Payment
On Feb. 27, 2015, several amendments to the New York Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA) became effective pursuant to a bill (S5885-B/A8106-C) signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo. By way of background, the WTPA aims to prevent employers from failing to pay wages by requiring written notices to employees setting forth their pay rates and pay dates and providing a civil cause of action against employers for improperly disclosing or paying wages.
As a positive for employers, the amendments eliminated New York Labor Law (NYLL) Section 195's onerous requirement that employers provide a wage notice to employees each January. However, employers must continue to provide this wage notice within 10 business days of each new hire's first day of employment and obtain a signed acknowledgement of receipt.
Other provisions of the amended WTPA are not so employer-friendly. First, the amendments substantially increase penalties under Section 198 of the NYLL for violations of wage payment and wage notice requirements. An employee now may recover $50 per work day (increased from $50 per work week) that the employee does not receive the new hire wage notice, with the maximum recoverable increasing from $2,500 to $5,000. Likewise, the amendments increase penalties for failing to provide a pay stub that complies with the WTPA from $100 per work week to $250 per work day, with the maximum recoverable increasing to $5,000. Employers with repeated violations in a six-year period also may be required to pay a civil penalty ranging from $1,000 to $20,000 at the Commissioner of Labor's discretion.
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